By Joseph Nayan – Ceylon Independent
In Northwestern Sri Lanka, the hunt is on. Thus far 300 skeletal human remains have been found including the remains of children. A fortnight ago, a new find discovered that there seems to have been evidence of two victims having been tied up, an almost certain indication of evidence of torture.
The number of human remains in what now turns out to be the largest mass grave find ever in Sri Lanka, has reached 300. Included in this figure are the remains of at least 23 children.
Mannar’s Judicial Medical Officer, Dr Saminda Rajapaksha who is the Court-Appointed authority conducting the excavation, confirmed at his weekly press briefing that the hunt is still on. The eventual find is expected to be sadly very high.
A sample selection of the remains is expected to be sent out of Sri Lanka to a specialist laboratory in Florida, by the 23rd of January this year. The investigations in Florida is expected to be able to ‘date’ the remains so as to further help in the accountability process. The carbon dating process is believed to be a forte of the institution in Florida, USA.
Last December shockwaves rose to new levels when evidence was unearthed of the shackled remains of two bodies. Tamil families in the area have held a demonstration to elicit information on missing family members but no one is faulting the JMO Dr Rajapaksha. Most we spoke to were grateful for the thorough work that Dr Samna Rajapaksha is carrying out. In turn the Doctor states that Court has given him a responsibility which he attributes to being able to discuss openly with members of the press – and he has weekly progress meetings which last for half an hour.
The Office of Missing Persons (OMP) has funded some of the expenditure and are expected to also nominate a representative to accompany the remains to Florida – experts say that the ‘chain of custody’ is essential for such sensitive matters of investigation.
